They all lost interest immediately. I scoffed the breakfast, and afterwards I felt a bit stodged out, but then I wished I felt fine, not full up but not hungry either, so that was all right.

The doorbell went, and it was Evan. There was a glow of happiness on his face. It’s amazing the difference being happy makes to someone’s face. You can’t put your finger on it and say what feature’s actually changed, but they just look better all round. Sharper. Brighter.

‘How’d it go?’ I said. ‘With your dad?’

‘Oh, Sam, it’s just . . . incredible. It’s – I can’t put it into words, it’s like I had a . . . terrible injury, and now it’s healed. I’m just . . . so glad he’s like he used to be again! The doctors have got no idea how it happened! Thanks so much!’

‘Oh, that’s OK. No worries.’

Evan’s face went thoughtful. ‘There’s not . . . any sort of a catch, is there?’

‘What d’you mean?’

‘I mean, like, in stories when people wish, there’s usually a catch. You know, it backfires, or you have to pay for it in some way.’

‘Not with my wishes! I wish for it, I get it, that’s it! End of.’

We walked on in silence for a while.

‘What else are you gonna wish for?’ Evan asked. ‘Don’t you want anything for yourself?’

‘I guess.’

‘What then?’

‘I don’t know.’

That was the problem. I really didn’t know.

It seemed to me that other people had got a lot more happiness out of my wishes than I had, so far. And I didn’t begrudge them that – in fact I got pleasure out of their happiness. But things I wanted for myself – well, it was just so easy to get them that it didn’t seem to mean very much.

At school that day, for instance, I got top marks in Maths. Well, big deal.

I went along to the chess club at lunchtime and beat everyone there in simultaneous games, including Steve Rubenstein, who’s played for the county. Again, big deal.

In PE we played football and I scored fifteen goals. Great.

In the afternoon I got bored in Science – I’d wished I understood everything about the parallax effect, so the teacher, Mr Qadir, was telling me stuff I already knew – so I just wished the bell would go an hour early.

Probably the best thing that happened at school was that Scorpus came up and said, ‘Whatever you done to my old man, man, thanks! He’s a different person now.’ So that was good. But again, that was another thing I’d done for someone else. What about me?